Registering device.



W. H. ZAHMANN.

REGISTEBING DEVICE.A APPLIUATION FILED Nov. 2g., i911l 1,053, 1 20,Patented Feb. 11, 19`l`3.

Z SHEETS-SHEET 1. y

einen sin me amarrar 'WILLIAM H. zcHNaNN, or woonnznvnn, NNW YORK,AssIeNoa To AMERICAN Evan READY COMPANY, n CORPORATION or Naw Yoan. I

REGISTERIING DEVCE.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, WILLIAM H. ZAoI-I- MANN, a citizen of the lUnitedStates,l residing at Woodhaven, Long island, 1n the county of Queens andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements inRegistering, Devices, of which the following is a specliication,reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings, forming partthereof..

My invention relates to registering .devices and particularly tocounting devices such as odometers.

In driving automobiles with the use oi guiding directions for followingthe .cor'

rect road, itis frequently necessary to enter a route at some otherpoint than that at which the mileage indications begin, or to slightlydeviate.i'rom a route and then return to it, or to change from one routeto another; and when from these or other causes there is a diierencebetween the trip mileage indications of the odometer and the mileagedirections ot the guide, it is necessary to compute the error at eachguide point and correct Vthe readings of the odometer accordingly. Soaiso it is frequently desirable to set a counting device by hand to someother indication than zero as the starting point of the registeringoperation.

The object of my invention is to obviate such diiiiculties with countingdevices in general by providing a device which may be readily andconveniently set at any time to any desired reading. l

More specific objects of my invention are simplicity and durability ofconstruction and facility and reliability of o eration.

Still other objects and a vantages of my invention will appear from theVfollowing description.

My invention is shown and described herein as embodied in an odometer,though manifestly it is broadly applicable to any registering orcounting device, and although particularly well adapted` for'registeringthe distance traveled by a vehicle, it. may be used to register themovement of any moving part or machine, and I shall hereinafter use theterm motor as compre-- bending anysuch vehicle, moving' part or machine.y

My invention comprises the combination, in a registering device, of aregistering mechanism, motor driven means for actuat- I Speccation ofLetters Patent.

Application led November 24, 1911.

Patented Feb. 11, 1913. Serialo. 662,142.

ing the registering mechanism,` and manually operative means for settingthe registering mechanism unit by unit, operative in addition to andindependently of the motor driven means. y i

My invention also comprehends, in combination with these features,'meansfor resetting the'registering mechanism to zero or to its initialindication.

Morespecifically, the registering mechanism comprises a series of numberwheels, and the motor actuation and the manual actuation areindependently applied to the units number-wheel.

Still more specifically the resettingmeans are arranged to resetandcollectively'rotate the number-wheels.

My invention also includesvarious other features of construction andcombinations of parts, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

I shall now describe the embodiment of my invention illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and shall thereafter point out my invention inclaims.

Figure l .is a front view with the dial removed, of a speed indicatorand odometer embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a similar view, enlarged,of the trip odometer mechanism, the casing being shown in section on theaxial line of the mechanism.

Figs. 3, l and 5 are transverseysectional,

views of the, trip odometer mechanism shown in Fig. 2, taken onthe lines3-3, 4-4., and 5*.5, respectively, as viewed from the left. Fig. 6 is arear detail view of the trip odometer registering mechanism.l Fig.

7 is an cud view of the same as viewed from the left of Fig. 6.' Fig. 8is a transverse` section of the same taken on the line 8 8 as viewedfromlthe left. 'Fig 9 is a central longitudinal sectional detail of theactuating mechanism inthe .same for the irst or units number-.vv luie'hlFig. 10 is ahorizontal section of the parts shown in Fig. 1, taken onthe line ylOlO as viewed from below,l the speed'. indicating mechanismbeing omitted. Figs. ll and l2i are,'respectivcly, face and-sideenlarged detail views of the. intermittent drive connection in thetransmission. l

inthe illustrated embodiment of my invention, the odometer, whichincludes both a totals" register and a trip register, is coinbined witha speed-indicating device, or 110- speedometer, and is situated in frontof the speedometer mechanism, in the usual way. Each of the registeringmechanisms includes a plurality of number-wheels, there being tivenumber-wheels 1 in the totals register, denoting respectively from unitsto ten thousands, and there being three number-wheels 2 in the tripregister, denoting respectively units, tens and hundreds. Each of thesesets of number-wheels is loosely mounted on a shaft, and actuation is.imparted to the units number-wheel of the totals register throughmotoror vehicle-driven transmitting means, which will be hereinafterdescribed, and the units number-wheel of the trip register is connectedto receive actuation from the units number-wheel of the totals register,as will presently appear. The totals register is ofv well knownconstruction.

The trip register will now be described. The number-wheels 2 are looselymounted on a shaft 3, which has its bearings in the arms 4 and 5 of ayoke 6 secured as by screws, to the casing 7 of the instrument. The arms4 and 5 have rearward branches 8 and 9, which serve as bearings for ashaft 10 parallel to the shaft 3. The units number-wheel may be actuatedeither by vehicledriven connection or by a manually operative settingdevice, as will now be described. The actuating means for the unitsnumberwheel and through the control exerted by this units number-wheelto all of the nuinber-wheels of the registering mechanism, consists of adouble ratchet mounted to freely rotate on the'shaft 3, and comprising avehicle-driven ratchet member 12 to the left of the bearing arm 4 and amanually actuated ratchet member 13 to the right of the bearing arm 4.The vehicledriven ratchet member is pinned to the right face of theunits number-wheel by a 4pin 11. These two ratchets are secured togetherby an inwardly projecting stem 14 on the ratchet 13 (see Fig. 9), whichstem has a smooth portion extending through the bearing in the arm 4 andcentrally thro-ugh a gear-wheel 15 to the left of the bearing, and hasan inner screw-threaded end which screws tightly into a screw-threadedbore in the ratchet 12. This stem 14 is hollow and serves as a bearingfor the end of the shaft 3. It is now apparent that as actuation isimparted either to the ratchet 12 or to the ratchet 13, the unitsnuinber-wheel will therebybe rotated.

Actuation is imparted to the vehicle'- driven ratchet 12 from the unitsnumberwheel 1 of the totals register through a train consisting of anidler pinion 16 mounted on a stud on the lower end of the arm 4 andmeshing with pins projecting laterally from the periphery of the unitsnumber-wheel 1 of the totals register, and the gear wheel 15, with whichthe pinion 16 meshes and which has a one-way driving connection with theratchet 12 through a spring-pressed pawl 17 carried by the gear wheel15. The number of pins on the units number-wheel 1 and of teeth on theratchet wheel 15 being the same,

the rotary movement of the units numberf `which extends in the path of acrank pin 23 on a vcrank disk 24. r1`his crankdisk 24 is ro-tativelymounted on a bearing screw stud 25 which screws into the outer end of ascrew-threaded bore in the ratchet 13 and has a smooth portion adjacentto its head, on which the crank disk 24 bears. rJlhis crank disk has aOneway drive connection with the ratchet 13 through a spring-pressedpawl.

26, and the turning of the knob 18 in a clockwise direction actuates theunits numberwheel 2 in the same or forward direction, through the shaft19, head 21,y pin 22, crank pin 23, crank disk 24, pawl 26, and ratchetmembers 13 and 12, while the turning of the knob'18 in the oppositedirection merely causes the pawl 26 to ride idly around the ratchet 13without aecting the units number wheel 2.

To actuate the tens and hundreds number-wheels one number each with eachcomplete rotation of their respective adjacent number-wheel of nextlower denomination, transmitting pinions 27 and 28 are employed, inengagement with the units and tens number-wlieels, and the tens andhundreds j number-wheels, respectively. The tens and hundredsnumber-wheels are each provided with one tooth-.engaging notch 29, andtwo lugs 30 and 31 projecting laterally in the front and rear of thenotch, respectively (see Fig. 3). r1`he tens and hunl dredsnumber-wheels are also provided with twenty equi-distant laterallyprojecting pins 32, two for each uiiit, arranged circumferentially nearthe periphery of the wheels on the'face toward the wheel of next lowerdenomination, as shown. '1` ie transmitting pinions- 27 and 28 havealternately fullwidth and narrow teeth, preferably four of each, makinga total of eight teeth, as shown, and they normally ride with twoadjacent fullwidth teeth resting on the pe- -riphery of the number-wheelof lower denomination, whereby the pinion is locked against rotation,and the intermediate narrow tooth projecting between the two adja--notarse 'her-wheel of higher denomination. As the number-wheel of lowerdenomination is rotated and approaches the point for transmittin itsmovement to the next number-wheel of igher denomination, the lug 30 inadvance engages the narrow tooth of the transmittino pinion and rotatesthe pinion. The full-width tooth ,in rear rolls down into the notch 29,and the pinion is turned until this full-width tooth which was in rearrides up on the periphery of the number-wheel. The next full-width toothin rear now rests on the'periphery of the number-wheel and the pmion isagain locked, but is one full-width tooth, or two teeth, in advance ofits former position. Thus the transmitting pinions are actuated onefullwidth tooth each time they engage the notch 29, or with eachcomplete rotation of their4 number-wheel of lower denomination.Sinceboth the full-width and narrow teeth mesh in the pins 32, one o fthese actuations of t e transmitting pinions serves to actu-.

ate vhe number-wheel of higher denomination two pins or one number. Asimilar transmission" (not'shown) is provided between the number-Wheels2 of the totals register.

To reset the'number-Wheels to zero or to their initial indication, t-heshaft 5 is provided with a longitudinal groove, and each of thenumber-wheels has a reset-ting pawl-33 (ses Fig. 3) on its left faceheld by a spring 34 against the shaft 3. The pawls 33 are so positionedom their respective wheels that the wheels are alined numerically orhave any desired relative position when the pawls all engage in thegroove in the shaft 3. As the number-wheels are rotated in a forwarddirection either by the vehicle actuation or by manual actuation appliedat the knob 18, the resetting pawls ride idly out of the groove andaround the shaft 3, but if the shaft is rotated in the same direction,the pawls take in the groove and the number-Wheels are all alined androtated forward together thereby, indicat- ,ing 000,111,222, etc. issecured to the left end of the shaft 3, which head is rotated when it isdesired to reset the wheels by turning a resetting knob 36, which issecured on the outer end of a shaft 37 bearing 4in a tubular bearing 38integral with the casing 7, on the inner end of whichl shaft is anaxially projecting tongue member 39 {it-ting into a slot on the end ofthe head 35.

To render the transmitting pinions 28 and 29 capable of permitting thissimultaneous resetting rotation of all the numberwheels, and at the sametime have them effective as transmitting pinions during the normal.actuation of the number-wheels, they are mounted on a swing frame oryoke held by a spring in engagement with the A resetting head 35.

number-wheels. The swing frame consists of a sleeve 40 (see Fig. 8) onthe shaft 10, and two arms 41 and 42 fastened to the ends of the sleeve40, and a shaft 43 journaled in the ends of the arms 41 and 42, on whichshaft the transmitting pi'nions 27 and 28 are mounted free to rotate onthe shaft, the transmitting pinions being properly spaced by suitablecollars. To permit the pinions to automatically release as' thenumberwheels are reset, a spring 44 is coiled about the sleeve 40 andbears at one end under a pin 45 in the arm 9, and at the other end onthe arm 42. By these means the transmitting pinions are held insufficiently firm engagement with the number-wheels to perform theirtransmitting function, and at the same time are permitted to yield andrelease from operative engagement with the number-wheels when thenumber-wheels are -collectively'rotated to reset them.

The method of setting the register to any desired number will now beapparent. The resetting knob '36 may be turned to bring thenumber-wheels as near as possible to desired indication, and thenrecourse had to the manual set to complete the setting of the registerby actuating the units number- Wheel and from this Wheel another orother vnumber-wheels in succession until the desired number is reached,the actuation be ing in the same manner vas the ordinary registeringactuation of the register or one unit at a time. For instance, supposeit be desired to set the register to 125, the number-wheels may be almedby turning the reset knob 3G and rotating them thereby until theyindicate 111, after which the units number-wheel is actuated throughfourteen units by turning the setting knob 18. This actuation may bevaried as desired or most suitable, the two lcontrolling knobs givingcomplete control to quickly put each number-wheel in desired positionfor any indication within the limits of 999 which they will indicate,and with the usual unit of one tenth of a mile, the limit of the tripodome' ter shown will be 99.9 miles.

Actuation is imparted to the instrument from the vehicle throughacontinuously driven iieXible shaft 46 which has a usual or suitabledrive connection with a wheel of the vehicle. The fieXible shaft 46rotates a worm 47 thereon at the rear of the casing 7 (see F ig. 10),which worm meshes with a worm-wheel 48. The Worm-wheel 48 is secured onthe end of a forwardly extending stem 49, near the front end of which isformed a worm 50. The stem 49 bears at its forward end ina bearing inthe yoke 51 serving as a support for the totals' register, and atanother point in a'bracket 52 -fas-` tened to the yoke 51. A transverseshaft 53 bearing in the two arms of the bracket 52- has securedA thereona worm-wheel 54 arranged in mesh With the Worm 50, and on .its rightend, Which projects outside the v bracket, is secured an intermittentdriving Wheel 55, having one tooth-engaging notch and coperating with adriven pinion 56. This intermittent drive connection, which isillustrated in detail in Figs. 1l and12, operates precisely as does theabove described transmission between the number-Wheels 2. The drivenpinion 56 meshes with the pins 32 on the sidev of the units number-wheell of the totals register, and from this units number-Wheel motion istransmitted to the units number-Wheel 2 of the trip odometer as abovedescribed. lt is novir apparent that the continuously driven flexibleshaft 4b', which is permanently operatively connected to a Wheel of thevehicle, imparts intermittent actuation to the number-Wheels of the twoAregisters through the connections above described, and that theindication of the trip register may be manually changed at any time toany desired number Without intertering with the connection between theregister and the vehicle.

lt is obvious that various modilications may be made in the constructionshown and above particularly described Within the principle and scope ofmy invention.

ln a registering device, registering mechanism comprising a plurality ofindicators, motor-driven means for actuating the registering mechanism,additional manually operative setting means permanently carried bytheregistering device and adapted to actuate the registering mechanism, andmeans for collectively resetting the indicators of the registeringmechanism to their initial indication.`

2. iin a registering device, registering mechanism comprising aplurality of indicators,.motordriven actuating means for the registeringmechanism arranged to permanently operatively connect the motor and theregistering mechanism, additional manually operative setting meanspermanently carried by the registering device and adapted to actuate theregistering mechanism, and manually operative means for collectivelyresetting the indicators ot the registering mechanism to their initialindication.

8. ln a registering device, registering mechanism including a unitsindicator and means for. indicating higher denomination controlled bythe units indicator, motordriven means tor actuating `the unitsindicati'r, and an additional manually operative setting deviceprruninently carried vby the registering device and adapted to :ii-tualethe units indicator, the means 'for indicating higher denomination beingcontrolled by the additional manually operative setting device throughthe units indicator'.

1i. In a registering device, registering mechanism including a unitsindicator and means for indicating higher denomination controlled by theunits indicator, motoring the units number-Wheel and having permanentconnection therewith, and means for resetting the number-Wheels to theirinitial indication and rotating them collectively.

6. In a registering device, registering mechanism comprising a series'ofnumber- Wheels and transmitting means between the successive numberWheels, motor driven means having a one-Way connection with the unitsnumber-Wheel and arranged to impart actuation thereto, and additionalmanually operative set-ting means having a permanent one-Way connectionWith the units number- Wheel only and arranged to impart actuationthereto.

7 In a registering device, registering mechanism comprising a series ofnumber- Wheels and transmitting means between the successive numberWheels, motor driven means having a one-way connection with the unitsnumber-wheel and arranged to impart actuation thereto, additionalmanually operative setting means having a one-Way connection with Vtheunits number-wheel only and arranged to impart actuation thereto,

and manually operative means for resetting the number-Wheels to theirinitial indication and rotating them collectively.

8. ln a registering device, registering mechanism comprising anumber-Wheel shaft, a plurality ot number-Wheels loosely mountedthereon, transmitting means between the successive number-Wheels, asetting knob disposed at one end of the number-wheel shaftlandoperatively connected to the units number-wheel for manually actuatingthe units number-wheel, engaging Vmeans*between the number-wheel shaftand 9. In-a registering device, registering` mechanism comprising anumber-Wheel shaft, a plurality of number-Wheels loosely mountedthereon, transmitting means between the successive number Wheels, aratchet connected to the units number- Wheel, -a setting knob disposedat the units number-Wheel end of the number-Wheel shaft and having aone-Way operative connection with the ratchet for manually actuating theunits number-wheel, engaging means between the number-Wheel shaft andeach number-Wheel adapted to reset the number-wheels to their initialindication and to connect the number-Wheels to their shaft as the shaftis rotated and a resetting knob connected to the opposite end of thenumber-wheel shaft for manually rotating the shaft.

10. In a registering device, registering mechanism comprising anumberwheel shaft, a plurality of number-Wheels loosely mounted thereon,transmitting means be-l tween the .successive number-Wheels, a ratchetconnected to the units number- Wheel, a setting knob disposed at theunits number-wheel end of the number-wheel shaft and having'a one-Way.operative connection-With the ratchet'for manually actuating the unitsnumber-Wheel, motor-driven vmeans having a one-way connection With theratchet for imparting actuation to the units number-Wheel, engagingmea'ns between .the number-Wheel, shaft and each number-wheel adapted toreset the number- Wheels to their initial indication and to connect thenumber-wheels to their shaft as the shaft 1s rotated, and a resettingknob connected to the opposite end of the number-Wheel shaft formanually rotating the shaft.

11. In a registering device, registering mechanism comprising anumber-Wheel shaft provided With a longitudinal groove, a plurality ofnumber- Wheels loosely mounted on the number-Wheel shaft, transmittingmeans between the successive number-wheels, a ratchet connected to theunits number-wheel, a setting knob disposed at the units miml'Jer-Wheelend of the number- Xvheel shaft and having a one-Way operativeconnection with the ratchet for manually actuating the unitsnumber-Wheel, motor driven means having a one-Way connection with theratchet for imparting actuation to the units number-Wheel, a pluralityof spring pressed paWls, one paivl pivoted to each number-wheel andarranged to loosely bear with its free end against the number- Wheelshaft, the spring pressed paWls being adapted to permit free actuationof their respective number-'Wheels in the direction of actuation by themotor driven means and to take in the groove when the numberwheel shaftis rotated in the same direction, and a resetting knob connected to theopposite end of the number-Wheel shaft for manually rotating the shaft.

In testimony whereof I have aiixed my signature in presence of twoWitnesses.

WILLIAM I-I. ZACHMANN.

Witnesses:

HENRy D. WILLrAus, Vlo'ron D. Bons'r.

